Pitter Patter
by xHandWhistlerx
Summary: Lemmy begins to figure out that he isn't like his siblings, but has an experience like no other.


**This is kind of a long story, but I hope you guys like it! Leave lots of reviews for me! :)**

**Pitter Patter**

Lemmy stared at the colors floating in thin air. Light poured through the elegant pieces of the stained glass windows and made rainbows on the rough stones in the castle. His mouth was ajar, saliva gathering on his chin; his eyes were wide and fixated with heavy concentration as he took in the simple beauty.

" Ey, retard." Roy slurred, smacking the back of Lemmy's head with his roughened palm. " Why don't you be useful?"

" Nah. Pretty. See?" Lemmy whimpered, pointing to the light.

Roy appeared untouched. " Yeah, sure. Whatever." He snorted, turning away. " You're useless anyway."

Lemmy listened to Roy's heavy footfalls echo about the corridor until they had vanished. He cried for a moment; Roy had hurt his feelings.

" I just can't think like the others." Lemmy thought. " I can speak and do things just fine in here…I wish I could do them out _there_." He wiped the mucus and saliva from his snout. " They don't understand."

He turned back to the colors one last time before walking in a wobbly fashion down the hall to his bedroom.

Iggy glanced up over his bifocal glasses and smiled at his brother when he entered their shared room. " Hello, Lemmy. You seem to be catching on to the walking thing fairly quick."

" I can walk." Lemmy growled. He felt ashamed that learning to walk had taken him so long; he learned to balance on his rubber ball faster, and even used it as his main means of transportation. Otherwise, he had to ride piggyback with Iggy.

" Oh, don't be discouraged. Just because it took you longer doesn't mean you're any different from the rest of us. It just means you're—,"

" Special?" Lemmy pouted.

Iggy tilted his head with sympathy; he knew that Lemmy was finally figuring out that there was something off-kilter in his mind: that, in fact, he _was not_ like everyone else.

" Yes. Special. You have talents that the others don't." He got up and walked over to Lemmy's bed, sitting next to his brother. " Look, just because you may not do things the same way as us doesn't mean that something's wrong with you. You just see things in a different perspective."

Lemmy nodded submissively and wiped his nose. Iggy always knew how to make him feel better.

" Iggy? Are you in here?" Ludwig's voice came from the doorway. " Ah, there you are. Do you still want to work on the Doomship with me?"

" Oh, you bet! Thanks for letting me help with it, Ludwig." Iggy said excitedly, hopping over to his blue-haired brother.

Lemmy glanced up at them and, wringing his hands, walked over to Ludwig, who was discussing what needed to be done with Iggy.

" Um." Lemmy mumbled, tugging on Ludwig's hand. " I can…I can help."

Ludwig's posture slackened a bit as he glanced down at Lemmy and then over to Iggy, raising his eyebrows skeptically at the taller twin.

" Uh, Lemmy." Iggy knelt in front of him. " This is a job that only Ludwig and I can do. I, uh, don't want you to hurt yourself."

Lemmy's eyebrows furrowed. " I can watch you." He said firmly.

Iggy looked up at Ludwig helplessly. Ludwig motioned for Iggy to follow him outside and Iggy told Lemmy to stay put. But, although they had left the room, Lemmy could still hear their conversation.

" Iggy, he can't come with us. You _know_ he'll get into something and mess up all my hard work." Ludwig said, voice lowered.

" I know, Ludwig, but…look, he's been having a bad day. If I just leave him here alone, I'll feel awful. I'll make sure that he doesn't get in our way." Iggy pleaded in a whisper.

" No, no. You've said that before and look what he's—,"

" I promise, Ludwig, I won't let anything happen. _Anything_. Just, please…" There was silence for a few long moments. " Look, he knows, okay? He's figuring out things about himself, that he has _problems_. And all he wants is to be like _us_, to do what we do. I want to give him a shot at that."

Ludwig gave a long, whispery sigh. " Alright…alright…"

Iggy came back into their bedroom, calling his brother, but at this point Lemmy had gone. Sobbing with great, heaving breaths, Lemmy crawled through the vents of the castle, finally finding one that led outside. Once out, he ran shakily forward before tripping over the jagged stones and falling to the ground with a sickening thud. He laid there breathing wildly, clenching his tiny fists and beating his head in frustration. He then stood up painfully and rubbed his knobby knees, cringing from the sting of fresh, dirty scrapes now present there. Sighing shakily, he walked in no particular direction, thinking no particular thoughts. He kicked up the dirt as he walked, dragging his clawed feet carelessly.

He heard beating propellers above him and saw his father returning in the Clown Copter. He wondered if Bowser would notice or care that he was gone. He was useless, after all.

Lemmy continued to walk, stirring up the dirt and staring at the blood on his knees. Hours passed unnoticed.

Lemmy clutched his stomach, which whined loudly with hunger.

" Snack. Yes, food." He nodded, turning around to go home. But, home was nowhere in sight. He turned in a circle, but all that he saw sprawled around him was a vast and barren nothingness. His home was nowhere in sight, and he realized, slowly, that he was lost within his own kingdom. " No. No. No." He repeated over and over.

He heard noises in the distance: angry, unfriendly noises. He knew that he had to get home quickly. He hobbled in the direction he thought he came from, trying to find enough balance and strength in his underdeveloped legs to run. The noises were catching up to him and he began to sob with fear. He was lost, and now something was going to kill him.

There was beating above him, like mighty wings swooping down to snatch him up and carry him away to his death. A shadow fell over him and, screaming like a hatchling, he fell to the ground. He clasped his arms above his head as dust swirled in a tornado around him. After a few moments of wild winds, the dust settled around him and everything went silent again. Mustering up what courage he had, he slowly uncovered his head and turned to look behind him.

" AH!" He shouted, scales bristling with fear and shock.

What sat behind him was something very large, very ancient, and very dangerous. It too had scales covering its body, though it's were more like armor than flesh. Its neck was long and elegant, reaching toward the brilliant blue and white sky. It's forearms, placed on claws in front of it, extended backwards to form gigantic, leathery wings. Its tail was long and wrapped around its muscular hind legs almost two times. But the eyes were the most exquisite thing about the beast: they were bright, frosty blue, slit in half by black pupils, which in turn were surrounded by a ring of yellow. The snout was long and full of razor teeth. Horns ringed the serpentine head, and smoke furled from the mouth and nostrils of the beast, surrounding the head in a grayish haze.

A Dragon.

Lemmy stared at the Dragon in awe; he did not even know they existed, though Iggy had read him many stories in which they ruled the land. From those stories, he knew that they were evil, princess-napping beasts; he also knew that koopas were a descendant of these magnificent monsters. He was stricken by its presence and felt sick with wonder.

But, the Dragon made no threatening movements. He only sat in the lightly stirring dust around his feet and stared at the tiny koopa.

Lemmy slowly moved to stand up; the Dragon did nothing. He stood up fully, knees shaking, and beheld the Dragon. " You're big." He said, almost in a whisper.

The Dragon made a noise, almost like a laugh, and bent its head down so that it was inches away from Lemmy. Its forked tongue slithered from its mouth and lightly caressed Lemmy's chest.

Lemmy laughed at the feeling, no longer feeling so scared. He reached out and placed his hand softly on the Dragon's snout. It closed its great blue eyes and appeared to give a small smile. Lemmy laughed again.

Then, the Dragon did something unexpected. It shoved its snout forward, pushing Lemmy onto its head. It then rolled the little koopa down its neck and onto its back.

" Whoa! What!" Lemmy yelped, grasping the Dragon's back helplessly.

The Dragon then reared up, spread its gigantic wings, and launched itself into the air. Lemmy screamed in terror, watching the ground disappear below him. But, the higher they rose, the more exciting it became. Lemmy straightened himself on the Dragon's back, and embraced the wind as it swirled around him. He gaped at the world around him; it was so new and amazing that he could form no thoughts to describe it. The Dragon roared in delight as it coasted through the evening air, untouchable by anything or anyone. Lemmy felt the same way; he outstretched his arms and yelled with delight.

After minutes that seemed like eternities of flying, the Dragon began to descend and soon landed on a grassy hillside near the castle. Lemmy slipped off, and it turned its hulking body to leave once more.

" No! Don't go!" Lemmy whimpered, placing a hand on the Dragon's haunches.

The Dragon, somehow looking forlorn, lowered its head to Lemmy one last time, purring comfortingly. Lemmy hugged its snout with his spindly arms, which did not even manage to wrap around it once. They stayed that way for a few precious moments before, finally, it left.

Lemmy watched it disappear and flopped back on the soft, waving grass.

" Lemmy?" Iggy's voice called. " Guys! I found him!"

Lemmy sat up and turned to see his twin rushing toward him in relieved delight. Iggy caught his brother in his arms, explaining how they had all been searching for him for hours.

" Yeah, what were you doing?" Larry asked as he and the rest of his siblings crowded around their brother. " How'd you get so dirty and bloody?"

Lemmy was about to launch into the story of the Dragon, but instead decided to keep it to himself; it was a memory that only he was meant to experience and own.

" I just played." Lemmy smiled, giggling deviously. His siblings raised their eyebrows and exchanged glances, but decided to let the matter slide.

That night, Lemmy's dreams swirled with clouds and wind, to the pitter-patter of dragon feet.


End file.
